FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Linder Financial Services Receives 2024 Best of Alpharetta Award

Alpharetta Award Program Honors the Achievement

ALPHARETTA March 2024 — Linder Financial Services has been selected for the 2024 Best of Alpharetta Award in the Financial Advisor category by the Alpharetta Award Program.

Each year, the Alpharetta Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Alpharetta area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2024 Alpharetta Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Alpharetta Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Alpharetta Award Program

The Alpharetta Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Alpharetta area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Alpharetta Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Alpharetta Award Program

We know most of you are not quite as excited as we are about the 21st annual Financial Literacy Month, but we know you are excited about our annual financial literacy quiz!

As a reminder, Financial Literacy Month was created to build awareness of smart money habits, including budgeting, saving, spending, and investing.

Now to the quiz:

1. Which of the following assets would be expected to hold value during a period of inflation?

a. A certificate of deposit
b. A corporate bond
c. A house
d. This is a dumb question because we never have inflation.
e. No idea. Guess I better call LFS.

2. Which of the following investment strategies has historically shown the highest return over several years?

a. Avoiding the stock market entirely and keeping cash in a FDIC insured savings account.
b. Moving money in and out of stocks frequently to avoid downturns and take advantage of upturns.
c. Buying and holding a variety of stocks while largely ignoring short term fluctuations.
d. This is a dumb question because the stock market never has downturns or upturns.
e. No idea. Guess I better call LFS.

3. A 15-year mortgage usually has higher monthly payments than a 30- year mortgage on the same property. The total interest paid over the life of the loan is

a. More for a 15-year mortgage than a 30-year mortgage
b. Less for a 15-year mortgage than a 30-year mortgage
c. Exactly the same interest regardless
d. Too much
e. No idea. Guess I better call LFS.

4. When GE stock split earlier this month, why did I get some cash in my account?

a. GE paid me to take some shares in the new company.
b. A dividend was paid in cash right after the split.
c. GE paid cash for my fractional GE Aerospace share instead of issuing a partial share of GE Verona
d. It doesn’t matter because I already spent both dollars GE gave me.
e. No idea. Guess I better call LFS.

5. What should I do if I get a website link in an email from Schwab that I have not been told about by LFS? Or if Schwab calls me?

a. Do not click on the link or call Schwab. Call LFS immediately.
b. Do not click on the link or call Schwab. Call LFS immediately.
c. Do not click on the link or call Schwab. Call LFS immediately.
d. Do not click on the link or call Schwab. Call LFS immediately.
e. Got it?

There is a growing concern about “spoofed” websites which are designed to convince users that they are visiting legitimate sites. Some of you have reported this huge concern to us with links from Schwab which are not actually from Schwab. Because of the reports from account holders, Schwab has provided some information and talking points for advisors to share with clients. We have also gotten reports of fake emails with links which look like they are from us.

How this happens:

Potential fraudsters purchase “sponsored links” to fake websites which appear at the top of search results. They hope that we, as unsuspecting potential victims, will click on these links and be directed to these fake websites where we could be exposed to malware or asked to provide confidential information.

What we all need to do, for all website links, not just for Schwab links

• Watch for URL errors, including misspellings, grammar/format errors or unusual website domains. Even one letter out of place is a signal that something is likely amiss. The fake emails from us have originated from fake email addresses. Check that.
• When you click on the site link, you are notified of a login issue and often directed to a hotline phone number. There may be a mention of unauthorized account activity. Remember that Schwab will never ask you over the phone for your account login password so if someone asks you for that, do not provide it. Obviously, we will never ask you for passwords in email or on the phone either.
• Question anything from Schwab which looks like an attempt to create a sense of urgency. Call us right away before you act.

Additional steps we are taking:

• As you know, we look at all account activity every day in every account so we will track you down if we see something unexpected – that we didn’t talk about, that we didn’t initiate, or which doesn’t follow your patterns of financial behavior.
• We have seen some of these attempts via DocuSign or other electronic document approval systems.
  • We only use DocuSign and only via Schwab. Links from any other document approval systems are not from us/Schwab.
  • We originate 100% of the DocuSign envelopes you get from Schwab. Schwab cannot do this on their own. And we will TELL YOU via email, text, or phone when we send you a DocuSign agreement via Schwab so that you know we sent it. If you have not heard from us, don’t open until or unless you confirm with us.
  • Some Schwab documents from us are delivered via email link to your Schwab.com (Schwab alliance log in) rather than via DocuSign. But we will also TELL YOU via email, text or phone when we send a document this way so you know it is from us. For extra security, consider logging into your Schwab.com account vs using the email link.
  • If you are not sure, call us right away.

Tax time is here, and everyone is so happy about it. Said no one ever and especially not this year. There has been a fair amount of chaos surrounding 1099’s from Schwab and Ameritrade. It should be easier than this, but at this point, we are all for just getting through it! This should be much cleaner for 2024.

Easier part first:

1. If you took a RMD in 2023, your 1099R will be issued by either Ameritrade or Schwab – depending on where the account was custodied when the RMD was done. If you took RMD’s from both Schwab and Ameritrade accounts, you should receive a 1099R from each.
2. There is no such thing as a combined Ameritrade and Schwab 1099 for a taxable account. If you had a taxable account (individual, joint, trust etc) at both Schwab and Ameritrade in 2023, you get a 1099 from both Schwab and Ameritrade, as long as there was at least $10 in dividends paid.
3. As always, if you have an IRA but are not taking RMD’s, you will get no 1099 for that account.

Now for the tricky part:

1. These forms should be mailed to you as always, but this has been spotty so far. We do not have ours via US Mail yet.
2. If we moved your taxable account or IRA prior to the Labor Day automatic rollover, your Ameritrade 1099 may or may not be available on your Schwab Alliance account, despite what Schwab is saying. It should be mailed to you and/or we can get it for you.
3. If your taxable account or IRA account was moved over Labor Day, your Ameritrade 1099 should be available on your Schwab Alliance account, along with your Schwab 1099 or 1099R.
4. There is still one more Ameritrade 1099 batch to be produced. This is scheduled to happen by 02.29.
5. We are happy to help with anything you need. We can access all of the old Ameritrade accounts and statements so don’t hesitate to tell us what you need.

And while you are on Schwab Alliance, have a look at your document delivery preferences. Now is the time to get those updated to reflect how you want to receive statements and tax forms in the future. Your Ameritrade preferences were supposed to have been carried forward, but that has not consistently occurred. As always, we can also reset these preferences for you if you confirm what you would like to have happen.

Enough already!

For those of you in the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) taking stage, who are also charitably inclined, there is a new option, appropriately nicknamed “legacy IRA”. As always, the rules are complicated and the answer to most questions is “well that depends” but have a read here and then call if you want to learn more. We will phone a friend if needed!

What is a Legacy IRA?

A Legacy IRA is also known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution Charitable Gift Annuity (QCD CGA). Under certain conditions (this is the “it depends” part) a donor can make a

1. one-time per tax-payer
2. tax-free
3. charitable distribution up to $53,000 in 2024
4. across multiple charities if desired and allowed by charities

This donation is in exchange for an income stream for a period of years. Yes, this is an annuity of sorts.

1. This distribution counts toward your RMD in the year the donation is executed.
2. A standard charitable contribution (QCD) can also be made in the same year for the additional allowable amount (which is an additional $52,000 in 2024).
3. The annuity payments can be made to the donor or spouse
4. All annuity payments are taxable as ordinary income in the years received
5. Minimum annuity pay-out is 5% annually.
6. Charity must have capability to do since the charity is responsible for the documentation

Why do?

1. No tax bill on the distribution
2. Income stream for life (annuity-like)
3. Proceeds on death go to your designated charity

There is also an option to make this one-time contribution to a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) rather than to a Charitable Gift Annuity. That is equally as complicated so call on that too.

Happy 2024!

For 2024, there are plenty of changes which impact IRA’s and 401K’s. There could be additional changes later in the year of course with some big changes expected for 2025.

For 401K/403B/457:

• The maximum employee contribution has been increased from $22,500 to $23,000. The catch-up contribution for employees age 50 and over remains at $7,500 for a total of $30,500. NOTE: in 2025, employers must put the employee catch-up contribution into a Roth 401K. Some employers are offering the option to do that in 2024 so check with your employer or plan administrator if you are interested in doing this. We can call with you as needed.

For Traditional IRA’s:

• Contribution limit has been increased to $7,000 from $6,500. The catch-up contribution for those age 50 and over is $1,000 for a total of $8,000. The income tax deductibility level has also been increased. We will review with you individually as needed.

For ROTH IRA’s:

• Contribution limit increased to lower of earned income or $7,000 for each spouse. Catch-up contribution of additional $1,000 for age 50 and over.
• Contribution eligibility has increased:
  • Full contribution with Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) less than $146,00,000 for a single taxpayer. Phase-out between $146,000 and $161,000. We can help with the phase-out math.
  • Full contribution for each with total Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) less than $230,000 for married/filing jointly taxpayers. Phase-out between $230,000 and $240,000. We can help with the phase-out math.
• 2023 contributions (of $6,500 or $7,500 if age 50 or over) can be made until April 15, 2024. Let us know if you plan to do this so we can ensure the deposit gets applied to the correct year.

Call with questions or if we can help get these changes made for you.